Indaba 2018 Application
We encourage everyone who is interested to apply. Application is open to all, including students, post-doctoral candidates, research staff, industries, startups: to people from across Africa and the world. We are particularly looking for people with a passion for machine learning and who are committed to our mission of strengthening machine learning in Africa.
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Key Dates Application Deadline: Closed Acceptance notification: 12 June 2018 Registration opens: 15 June 2018 |
What is the Deep Learning Indaba?
The Deep Learning Indaba 2018 will be held over 6 days, from the 9th to the 14th of September at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The programme consists of advanced lectures by world-renowned experts in the field, practical sessions and events each day. Please see our provisional programme for more information.
Eligibility: Can I Attend?
You can apply either as a student or as a general attendee.
You should apply if you have:
- Students should be 4th-year/honours, MSc, PhD, or postdoc level. Students at a coding academy or institute are also welcome to apply in this category.
- General attendees include academics, research scientists at startups or industry, and engineers in data science fields.
You should apply if you have:
- An active interest in machine learning, artificial intelligence, statistics, data science, or related computational sciences (e.g., statistical physics, computational neuroscience, computational social science, etc).
- Basic programming experience in Python or Matlab (if you’ve completed an undergrad assignment that involved coding, you should be fine!).
- Basic (undergraduate) knowledge of calculus, linear algebra, probability theory and statistics. See the description of background topics for pointers and further details.
Why should I apply to attend the Indaba?
- Unparalleled networking opportunities: The Indaba is the biggest data science and AI meetup in Africa and the biggest Machine Learning summer school in the world!
- Learn from and interact with world-class researchers and engineers who are there for most of the week, including Google’s head of AI, Jeff Dean (the inventor of many of the core technologies underlying Google’s infrastructure, including MapReduce, TensorFlow, and many more).
- Take the time to focus on learning. The week long Indaba is an intense programme designed to both teach and reinforce through practical sessions and discussion with peers.
- Deep-dive into topics of interest. Our new parallel tracks allow you to tailor your experience to be more theoretical, more applied or more focussed on policy, strategy and ethics.
- Become part of the community. We are a fast-growing community of researchers, industry professionals, academics and students from across Africa and the world!
What will I gain if I attended last year?
We are building a sustainable community of Machine Learning researchers, practitioners and enthusiasts. Continuity is extremely important for this. We have doubled the capacity this year and therefore strongly encourage all participants and applicants of the 2017 Indaba to apply to attend again in 2018! By attending again in 2018 you will gain:
- New perspectives on familiar topics: We have a completely new set of world-class speakers this year!
- Opportunity for deep dives: In contrast to last year, our new parallel tracks will allow you to dive deeper into your favorite models and techniques, and include applied sessions on machine learning in production, life in start-ups, and AI policy and ethics.
- Double the size means double the networking opportunity!
- Practicals have been revamped to include recent developments in the state of the art of machine learning application.
- Share your experiences and learning and help shape our community culture going forward.
And of course, the chance to visit picturesque Stellenbosch!
Registration: What costs are involved?
Registration is FREE for students. For general attendees we charge a fee of R5000.
Registration covers participation in lectures and practical sessions, lunch, coffee breaks and evening events. All other costs, including travel and accommodation, are the responsibility of the attendees. We do have financial support for travel and accommodation that students may apply for.
Registration covers participation in lectures and practical sessions, lunch, coffee breaks and evening events. All other costs, including travel and accommodation, are the responsibility of the attendees. We do have financial support for travel and accommodation that students may apply for.
Financial Support and Awards
Applying for financial support will not affect a student’s chances of being accepted to attend the Indaba.
We will offer financial support to encourage students from across our continent to attend. We will not be able to fund everyone who applies for these awards, so applications are competitive. In 2017 we supported 70 students, and expect to double this in 2018.
We will offer financial support to encourage students from across our continent to attend. We will not be able to fund everyone who applies for these awards, so applications are competitive. In 2017 we supported 70 students, and expect to double this in 2018.
Questions?
Take a look at our application guide. If anything is still unclear, feel free to email us: [email protected]